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Post by deuce on Jan 12, 2017 12:00:58 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Jan 12, 2017 13:31:49 GMT -5
Gibbon's 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire' is a classic and still a great read. Concerning Hunnic history Edward Gibbon was influenced by Joseph de Guignes who wrote 'Histoire generale des Huns, des Mongoles, des Turcs et des autres Tartares occidentaux' in 1757. De Guignes was the first western historian to link the Huns of Attila to the Xiongnu, and through Gibbon the Hun/Xiongnu link was popularized in the English speaking world. During the 20th century historians started to abandon the possible ties between the Xiongnu and the Huns. EA Thompson completely ignored the Xiongnu in his ' A History of Attila and the Huns', in 1948. One of the reasons was that historians of the later Roman Empire, this includes Thompson, knew very little about the Altaic speaking tribes and were generally specialized in Roman, Germanic and Celtic history, culture, linguistics etc. A contemporary and academic rival of Thompson was Otto Maenchen-Helfen, he was one of the greatest historians of the Huns, he was just as comfortable with Altaic sources as he was with Latin and Greek sources. Maenchen-Helfen also dismissed the Xiongnu/Hun connection. This remained the case until the last couple of decades, recent publications have tried to re-establish a connection between the Xiongnu and Huns. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_de_Guignesen.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_J._Maenchen-Helfenen.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Arthur_Thompson
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Post by Deleted on Jan 12, 2017 14:43:26 GMT -5
The Scout (Der Scout), 1983, An East German/Mongol Western.In this 'Red Western' Mongolian actors portray the Indians and East Germans portray the Americans. The leading actor is of Serbian descent, his name is Gojko Mitić, he portrays White Feather. Gojko Mitić, starred in numerous 'Red Western' films as an American Indian hero between 1966-1984. Here's the synopsis from the DEFA film library. In 1877, after the near-complete annihilation of the prairie Indians, the Whites have moved further west. There, they encounter the peaceful Nez Perce Indians, who were scheduled to be forced onto a reservation. In order to hinder escape attempts from the reservation and stifle the Indians' spirit of resistance, a cavalry regiment commandeers the Indians' large herd of horses. Chief White Feather decides to get back his tribe's horses without the use of force. Pretending to belong to another tribe, White Feather allows himself to be taken prisoner. Most of the soldiers have been sent off to attack the Cayuse tribe, and the seven remaining men commission White Feather as the scout to lead them to the Fort Lapwai. But along the way, the clever Sergeant Anderson realizes White Feather's true identity, becoming his deadly enemy even as he depends on the Indian scout to safely guide his troops to their destination.Battsetseg Natsagdorj and Gojko Mitić. Here's the whole movie. (No Subs unfortunately)
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Post by deuce on Jan 18, 2017 15:34:32 GMT -5
This looks to be interesting, as always. BTW, as I recall, that final Tocharian mummy was 6'5" or 6'6" when alive.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 18, 2017 18:55:35 GMT -5
This looks to be interesting, as always. BTW, as I recall, that final Tocharian mummy was 6'5" or 6'6" when alive. He's also known as the Cherchen Man or Chärchän Man. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherchen_ManHere's a pic with the Cherchen Woman on the bottom right corner and the baby from the same tomb. According to wikipedia: While an early estimate suggested that had been 198 cm (6 feet 6 inches) tall, the archaeologists J. P. Mallory and Victor Mair put the man's height at no more than 165 cm (5' 5"). Mallory, JP; Mair, Victor H. (2000). The Tarim Mummies. London: Thames & Hudson. p. 190.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 20, 2017 2:50:39 GMT -5
Artist's impression of the 'Beauty of Loulan'
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Post by Deleted on Jan 23, 2017 3:47:40 GMT -5
The Physical Appearance of Temüjin/Genghis Khan: According to the Earliest Written Accounts.
1. The Secret History of the Mongols 'Fire in his eyes and light in his face'
In section 61 of the Secret History, upon seeing the young Temüjin (Genghis) Dei-Sechen, father of Börte says: 'This boy of yours has fire in his eyes and light in his face.' This is seen as a sign of intelligence according to Urgunge Onon, a Mongolian translator of the Secret History. In section 66, When Yesügei saw Dei-Sechen's daughter Börte, there was light in her face and fire in her eyes. Scholars tend to disagree about the exact meaning of Börte. The mythological wolf ancestor of the Mongols was called Börte Chino. Cleaves interprets Börte in Börte Chino as 'Bluish' De Rachewititz as 'blue-grey' Urgench Onon goes for a 'greyish white' Alan Qo’a the Fair and the Shining Man: Ancestors of Genghis Khan.The beautiful Alan Qoa, was married to Dobun Mergen. They had 2 sons, Dobun Mergen also adopted a boy from another tribe. After Dobun Mergen died she had 3 more sons. The 2 sons of Dobun Mergen accused their mother of sleeping with their adopted brother. This is the earliest extant source; The Secret History of the Mongols, sections 17- 22. [17] Not long afterwards, Dobun-mergen died. After his death, despite the loss of her husband, Alan Qo’a bore three more sons called Buqu-qadagi, Buqatu-salji, and Bodonchar-mungqaq.
[18] Belgünütei and Bügünütei, the two sons born earlier to Dobun-mergen, talked together about their mother Alan Qo’a behind her back: This mother of ours has produced three sons, without [our father’s] older brother, younger brother, or cousins or any husband. Only the Ma’aliq Baya’ud man lives in this yurt. They are probably his three sons.’ Alan Qo’a sensed what they were saying behind her back.
[19] One spring day, after boiling some dried mutton, she made her five sons, Belgünütei, Bügünütei, Buqu-qatagi, Buqatu-salji, and Bodonchar-mungqaq, sit down in a row. She gave each an arrow-shaft, saying: ‘Break it.’ They broke the arrow-shafts easily and threw them aside. Again, she took five arrow-shafts and bound them together. She gave the five bound shafts to each in turn, saying: ‘Break them.’ Each tried, but none succeeded.
[20] At this, Alan Qo’a said to her two sons Belgünütei and Bügünütei: ‘You have doubted me. You have talked together, saying: “Whose are these three sons that she has borne? Whence did they come?” It is right for you to be suspicious.
[21] Every night, a shining yellow man came into the yurt through the light of the smoke-hole and over the top of the door. He caressed my belly and his light sank into it. He [slunk] sheepishly away like a yellow dog by the light of the sun and moon.’ Why do you talk unwisely? Evidently it is a sign that they are sons of Heaven. Why do you compare them to the black-haired commoners?When they become lords of all, the common people must understand.
[22] Again, Alan Qo’a spoke with her five sons: ‘All five of you were all born of this same belly. Alone, you can be broken easily by anyone. Together and of one mind, like bound arrow-shafts, none can easily vanquish you.’ Not long afterwards, their mother Alan Qo’a passed away.So far, a direct translation in the relevant section of Rashid-al-Din's 'Compendium of Chronicles' has managed to be elusive, but, when I get hold of a direct translation I will post it on this thread. 2. Minhaj al-Siraj Juzjani
Cats' Eyes of Genghis KhanMinhaj al-Siraj Juzjani, was a historian who served at the court of the Turkish Mamluk Sultanate in India. Juzjani described an older Genghis as 'a man of tall stature, of vigorous build, robust in body, the hair on his face scanty and turned white, with cats' eyes, possessed of dedicated energy, discernment, genius, and understanding, awe-striking, a butcher, just, resolute, an over- thrower of enemies, intrepid, sanguinary, and cruel.'
Juzjani completed his history 'The Tabaqat-i Nasiri' in 1260. 3. Ata-Malik JuvainiHe was a Persian historian and completed 'The History of the World Conqueror' in 1260. He stayed in Mongolia at least a couple of times and left the Mongol capital Karakorum in 1252/3. Juvaini accompanied the 1st Ilkhan of Persia Hülegü Khan (grandson of Genghis) when the Mongols destroyed the Assassin order of Alamut in 1256. Juvaini was also present at the fall of Baghdad in 1258. Juvaini had plenty to say about the genius of Genghis Khan and his campaigns in Central Asia and Iran, but, did not write about the appearance of Genghis Khan. The work of Juvaini was an important source for Rashid-al-Din. 4. Rashid-al-Din (1247–1318)
Rashid-al-Din, was the vizier of the Ilkhan, Ghazan (1271–1304) and a historian, among other duties, basically Rashid was a man of many talents. The work of Juvaini was an important source for Rashid-al-Din, as well as the now, non-extant 'Altan Debter' or Golden Book. 'Ruddy Complexion' of the Genghis clan.What Genghis had to say when he first laid eyes on his grandson Kublai. 'Qubilai Qa'an was the fourth son of Tolui Khan by Sorqoqtani Beki. His nurse was the mother of Moge, a concubine of the Naiman people. It chanced that he was born 2 months before Moge, and when Chingiz-Khan's eye fell upon him he said:
"All our children are of a ruddy complexion, but this child is swarthy like his maternal uncles. Tell Sorqoqtani Beki to give him to a good nurse to be reared."
He was given to Moge's mother, Saruq by name. Two months later when Moge was born his mother gave him to a nurse of the Tangqut people to be reared, and [she] reared Qubilai Qa'an herself until he had grown up. She regarded him as her own child and cared for and protected him in every way. The Qa'an held her in the highest honor, and when she died he constantly remembered her and used to give alms for the sake of her soul.' Rashid-al-Din, translated by John Boyle, The Successors of Genghis Khan, 1971, p.241 BibliographyCleaves, Francis Woodman - The Secret History of the Mongols, Harvard University Press, 1982 De Rachewiltz, Igor - The Secret History of the Mongols: A Mongolian Epic Chronicle of the Thirteenth Century, 2 volumes, EJ Brill, 2004 Juvaini, Ata-Malik - Genghis Khan: The History of the World-Conqueror, translated by John Andrew Boyle, University of Manchester Press, 1997 Onon, Urgunge - The Secret History of the Mongols : The Life and Times of Chinngis Khan, Taylor Francis Ltd, 2001 Rashid-al-Din - The Successors of Genghis Khan, translated by John Andrew Boyle, Columbia University Press, 1971
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Post by Deleted on Jan 31, 2017 14:47:53 GMT -5
The Khazars.The Khazars were a powerful Turkic tribe ruling the steppes of southern Russia and present day Ukraine. The mystery of the Khazars has fascinated scholars for centuries and conspiracy theorists (Try to google Khazars and you'll see what I mean, a search on youtube is even more disturbing) over the last Century. The Khazars probably, gradually gained their independence from the Türk Empire in the mid-7th century. They halted the Islamic advance through the Caucasian Mountains and established ties with the Byzantine Empire. Under the rule of Bulan the Khazars converted to Judaism in 740 AD, scholars tend to disagree about the date of the conversion, it may have been a century later. Scholars also disagree about the the depth of the Khazar conversion, whether it was only the elite that converted to Judaism, or the entire the Khazar nation. The Rus and the Pechenegs formed an alliance and crushed the Khazars in the 960's. Here's a map of the Khazar Empire. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khazars
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Post by Deleted on Jan 31, 2017 15:03:37 GMT -5
A couple of Books on the Khazars. The Thirteenth Tribe: The Khazar Empire and its Heritage by Arthur Koestler, originally published in 1976. This book traces the history of the ancient Khazar Empire, a major but almost forgotten power in Eastern Europe, which in the Dark Ages became converted to Judaism. Khazaria was finally wiped out by the forces of Genghis Khan, but evidence indicates that the Khazars themselves migrated to Poland and formed the cradle of Western Jewry. To the general reader the Khazars, who flourished from the 7th to 11th century, may seem infinitely remote today. Yet they have a close and unexpected bearing on our world, which emerges as Koestler recounts the fascinating history of the ancient Khazar Empire. At about the time that Charlemagne was Emperor in the West. The Khazars’ sway extended from the Black Sea to the Caspian, from the Caucasus to the Volga, and they were instrumental in stopping the Muslim onslaught against Byzantium, the eastern jaw of the gigantic pincer movement that in the West swept across northern Africa and into Spain. Thereafter the Khazars found themselves in a precarious position between the two major world powers: the Eastern Roman Empire in Byzantium and the triumphant followers of Mohammed. As Koestler points out, the Khazars were the Third World of their day. They chose a surprising method of resisting both the Western pressure to become Christian and the Eastern to adopt Islam. Rejecting both, they converted to Judaism. Mr. Koestler speculates about the ultimate faith of the Khazars and their impact on the racial composition and social heritage of modern Jewry. He produces detailed research to support a theory which could make the term ‘anti-Semitism’ become void of meaning. link for the book. www.fantompowa.info/13th%20Tribe.pdfThe Jews of Khazaria by Kevin Alan Brook, Rowman & Littlefield, 2006.The Jews of Khazaria chronicles the history of the Khazars, a people who, in the early Middle Ages, founded a large empire in eastern Europe (located in present-day Ukraine and Russia). The Khazars played a pivotal role in world history. Khazaria was one of the largest-sized political formations of its time, an economic and cultural superpower connected to several important trade routes. It was especially notable for its religious tolerance, and in the 9th century, a large portion of the royal family converted to Judaism. Many of the nobles and commoners did likewise shortly thereafter. After their conversion, the Khazars were ruled by a succession of Jewish kings that began to adopt the hallmarks of Jewish civilization, including the Torah and Talmud, the Hebrew script, and the observance of Jewish holidays. In this thoroughly revised edition of a modern classic, The Jews of Khazaria explores many exciting new discoveries about the Khazars' religious life, economy, military, government, and culture. It builds upon new studies of the Khazars, evaluating and incorporating recent theories, along with new documentary and archaeological findings. The book gives a comprehensive accounting of the cities, towns, and fortresses of Khazaria, and features a timeline summarizing key events in Khazar history.
www.khazaria.com/
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Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2017 20:45:28 GMT -5
Music from the Steppe
Basaganai duun by Medegma Dorjiyeva from the land of the Buryats.
From the words that I can discern this song's about motherhood.
Khongor ür mini by Gantögsiin Erdenechimeg from the land of the Mongols.
This song's about the yearning and love for your homeland. There are several Turko-Mongol versions of this song, the original was in the Tuvan language.
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Post by deuce on Feb 8, 2017 22:07:25 GMT -5
This is more like it! I've always liked Reynolds. He's no Angus, but he's better than Embleton. I and a buddy of mine who also collects Osprey call Embleton "Simpleton". I swear, he depicted one medieval Welshman as some sort of Neanderthal. He can do good work, but not often.
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Post by deuce on Feb 10, 2017 23:22:16 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Feb 17, 2017 2:03:41 GMT -5
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Post by deuce on Feb 22, 2017 10:24:45 GMT -5
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Post by deuce on Feb 24, 2017 0:07:01 GMT -5
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